No News From the Souris Oil Field (Spearfish, ND, USA)

Someone asked me why there is so little news regarding the Spearfish formation in northwestern/north-central North Dakota?

Here was my reply. I replied as a comment elsewhere but it was such a long reply, and because it might be of interest to a more general audience, here is my answer.  Again, this is just my opinion; maybe others have more insight.

Question: Why is there so little news regarding the Spearfish formation in Bottineau County?

Answer: I have been wondering the same thing, why so little news. 

This is what the NDIC website reports regarding the Spearfish play in the Souris field:

For all intents and purposes, the only operator currently in the Souris field (Spearfish formation) is EOG.

EOG has 16 permits/file numbers in the Souris field. Two of the wells are active (A) and have reported out, which I have posted on this blog. An additional three permits are confidential (C). None of these three have a date associated with them, which means the wells are not complete. I do not know if they have even spudded; EOG does not frack between November and March. If the wells are not fracked before December, they will not be fracked until the spring (unless EOG makes exceptions regarding fracking; or their policy has changed).

That accounts for five permits. The other eleven (11) file numbers are listed as LOC: locations with permits to drill but no activity.

Of all the operators in the Bakken, EOG provides the least information on their on-going operations (in my opinion); they are very, very good at holding things close to their chests, as they say. I have no problem with that. None whatsoever.

Since the wells will not be gushers (huge IPs), individual wells will not catch the attention of the local press, and there is little reason for EOG to issue press releases ahead of the confidential release date to tell folks how the wells are going.

EOG is a huge company. Its market cap is $24 billion. Unlike WLL (market cap, $6 billion), which has several presentations at their website to download, EOG has only one presentation. WLL presentations are exhaustive, up to 60 - 70 slides. EOG's presentation is 19 slides and devotes one slide -- one slide -- to the Bakken/Three Forks and none to the Spearfish.

Suffice it to say: a) oil companies are not in the business of telegraphing their on-going operations; b) the Spearfish is but a pixel on EOG's radar scope; and, c) for now, the Spearfish has local interest.

The best I can hope for is some local folks taking a drive out there and seeing if there is any activity on the three confidential well pads.

Updates

Update, November 2, 2010: the above summarized the 16 EOG wells in Souris oil field. There are others, including Boundary 4-27H, a wildcat, just a couple of miles south of the Souris. That well is "plugged or producing" (obviously producing). In the November hearing dockets, case number 13429, EOG has requested temporary spacing for Boundary 4-27H, which means they have struck meaningful amount of oil.